Did Isabelle’s laundry today and when getting ready to transfer the clothes from washer to dryer, this is what I found! Looks like the plushies had a bit of a party in the spin cycle! How many of them can you find?

A few photos long overdue from the Oxford trip at the end of October. Another week of working with the technology guys out at the mother office, spending the weekend doing—what else?—work, and then joined by the rest of the US law editorial team for US-UK strategy meetings. If it wasn’t for their arrival, I would have most likely spent my entire time there working. To be honest, if any one of us was out there alone, we would’ve spent the entire time working, such as it is with the workload right now. I guess social is as social is.

“Cheapskate Sausage” at The Big Bang on Friday

The cheapskate sausage, made up of “two of our less delicious sausages,” a wonderfully apt description! None of us ventured to try that one, although the rest of the menu of bangers and mash were delicious. Located just up the street from OUP, the Big Bang was a nice, casual and fun place if you enjoy sausages and potatoes.

The Old Parsonage

A bike left for a week, whose parts were being slowly scavenged.

I took a stroll down Banbury past the Old Parsonage, glimpsing to capture some photos of the charming hotel on a rainy Saturday morning and possibly some other parts of Oxford before heading into the office to prepare for next week’s meetings. Out of all my days there, this was the rainiest, chilliest—the rain came down sideways as the wind whipped up loud banging of opened windows while I was in the office—and thus did not afford too many good photo opportunities.

Sunday came, and after attending Sunday service at Emmanuel Church Oxford (see separate post), I trudged over to the Old Parsonage to check-in and meet up with the rest of US Law Division. With Ebin and Mark, we walked over to the Lamb & the Flag for a pint and lunch (delicious beef pie!). As they went back to the hotel to check-in, I joined Peter, Michelle, Ninell and Kevin on Peter’s very, very short, impromptu guided tour of Oxford. It was getting dark fast as this was day one after end of daylight-savings time, and thus very few opportunity for scenic photos.

An ant’s eye view southward on St. John’s Street from Wellington Square.

Kevin said “Look, it’s the moon!”

Monday night, after an extremely long day including skipping breakfast and hectically finalizing presentation—and then presenting and then trying to do more of my own project there—I was able to spend some good quality “wandering Oxford” time with Ebin, Ninell, Mark & Chris. After a dinner and a pint at the famous Gardeners Arms first, of course!

Guinness (and Michelle) at the Gardeners Arms

Ninell (and Kevin’s seemingly ginormous hand)

The Authoritative Ebin

On Broad Street

Ninell and Ebin at the King’s Arms

Tuesday night, after another long day of meetings and project work, a company-sponsored pub time at Jude the Obscure and then dinner at a tapas bar (odd choice for an “English” dinner, I think) along with some additional pub time (at the Royal Oak) later.

Tapas!

Sarah

Ninell and Vicky @ the Royal Oak

Alfresco dining at the Old Parsonage’s courtyard.

What a long trip…walking back to the Old Parsonage in the drizzly night. Time for bed, a morning’s worth of meetings and looking forward to going home to see Simone & Isabelle!

Turning in for the night, the restaurant at the Old Parsonage.

In hindsight, it appears drinking beer was a lot of my non-work activity there. “When in Rome!” All kidding aside, though, I’m not an advocate for drinking until you’re trashed or excessive drinking of any kind. For me, alcohol—mostly wines—enhance meals, especially meats, so well. Beer, in a different way, really accompanies a heavy meal such as burgers or fish-n-chips, for example. As I’ve written about before, my parents brought me up “European” in that at a young age, they introduced me alcohol, like beer and wine, so that I’d learn how to drink. In high school, I couldn’t understand why all my classmates were bent on getting their hands on beer and getting drunk. You drink with food, you idiots! HAHA! Happy Advent!

A weekly segment of the Mike and Mike sports talk show (daily on ESPN Radio), the “Just Shut Up” award is given to those human beings in the sports media who exude such selfish, self-adulatory behavior that deserves to be told to just shut up!

Today, the award definitely goes to that husband and wife team—Michaele and Tareq Salahi—and their continuing attempt to become celebrities. Really, do you think this ongoing drama is anything but? They win the award (probably for the decade) for sneaking into a White House formal dinner with a visiting head of state all for the sake of media attention in order to get onto a reality TV show. And now they have the gall to claim on national television that the police have to wait for their explanation?! Seriously, folks, just shut up!

First of all, it was trespassing! I’m sorry, but any black man (or other minority, if you will) who trespasses on anyone’s property—forget the fact that it was the White House—would probably be arrested on the spot! No one has the opportunity to go days without being arrested….or on national TV to explain their stories only to say that the police and the public can wait for their explanation. Are you kidding me?

What they are probably trying to do (with their lawyers’ (face it, they probably have a team of them) help) is trying to come up with ways to explain their actions and keep them out of jail. But, why are they given this time? Why haven’t they been arrested already and just made to shut up! They deserve a reality TV show alright: the federal penitentiary! Time to throw away the trash, people!

And…a true sign of how desperate NBC is for ratings is the fact that NBC gave the Salahis the forum to speak on this morning’s Today Show. The worst example of a breach of contract between journalists and the public came with Matt Lauer’s complete kowtowing to corporate pressure and terribly representing journalist everywhere by simply avoiding any pressuring questions on the Salahis. What an absolute disgrace and just pathetic: shame on you, Mr. Lauer and NBC!